Vegetovascular dystonia is a syndrome characterized by a wide range of manifestations. It is not a full-fledged disease; revision 10 is not mentioned in the international classification of diseases. But people are in serious trouble.
Doctors in the CIS diagnose VSD in the case when it is impossible to identify a specific disease, and the symptoms are unstable.
As a rule, the tendency to autonomic dysfunction syndrome manifests itself in childhood. However, an adult can also experience unpleasant symptoms. They often come after a severe infectious disease or severe stress.
Causes of occurrence and risk groups
It is not always easy to determine exactly what causes the symptoms of vegetative vascular dystonia in adults and why they are aggravated, but this determines the tactics of how to treat the problem. Doctors have narrowed down the range of possible risk factors and groups of people susceptible to developing the syndrome.
Risk factors
The reasons for the development of VSD in adults can be:
- prolonged depression;
- infection;
- bad ecology;
- radiation exposure;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- bad habits;
- physical overwork;
- psychological exhaustion;
- traumatic brain injury.
At-risk groups
In the category of adult patients with VSD symptoms, there are:
- Women, especially during the period of hormonal changes: puberty, pregnancy, menopause.
- People with a sedentary lifestyle, prone to physical inactivity.
- Those whose work is connected with constant traveling – changing circadian rhythms, overwork.
- Leading an unhealthy lifestyle with bad habits and addictions.
- Hereditary predisposition.
Those who survived oxygen starvation during the prenatal period of development – with pathology of gestation.
VSD is manifested by paroxysmal symptoms, indicating the pathology of several body systems at once: the brain, heart, respiration, intestines.
As a rule, an episode of feeling unwell will go away on its own, without the need to take special medications.
Classification and symptoms
To understand how to treat vegetative vascular dystonia (VVD) in adults, determine how it manifested itself and why these symptoms are present.
The syndrome is multisymptomatic; there are several variants of it. The specific type depends on which organ system is affected by the manifestations of the disorder of the autonomic nervous system.
Depending on the manifestations, doctors distinguish the following types of VSD:
- Neurotic is one of the uncomfortable for everyday life, as it is characterized by a change in character and a decrease in working capacity. A person becomes irritable, crying, gets tired very quickly, hears tinnitus, is prone to panic attacks
- Genitourinary type. It is characteristic of women, but also occurs in men. It manifests itself in increased frequency of urination, edema, irregularities in the cycle (women), problems with potency and anorgasmia (men).
- Cardiac, cordial. The leading symptom is disorders of the cardiovascular system. A person is haunted by pressure drops, attacks of tachycardia, chest pain, in the area of the heart, stabbing or burning (as with angina pectoris) character.
- Thermoregulatory – poor tolerance of stuffiness or cold, fluctuations in body temperature from 35 to 37.7 ° C.
- Dysdynamic type. It is diagnosed with surges in blood pressure, changes in skin dermographism from red to white and vice versa.
- Respiratory version of the VSD. The person feels that he cannot breathe in the air deeply. Shallow, rapid breathing, shortness of breath, a feeling of suffocation. Symptoms occur without physical exertion, and are aggravated by emotional stress.
- Dyspeptic option. It is manifested by the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms: nausea, indigestion, heartburn, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation.
One isolated variant of the VSD is rarely found in one patient. As a rule, a person has complaints that are characteristic of 2-3 types of pathology at once, with a predominance of one.
Therefore, patients with VSD are treated for a long time, some by a cardiologist, some by a pulmonologist, some by a therapist or gastroenterologist. And you need to consult a neurologist.
Diagnostics
There is no equipment or test to detect vegetative dystonia. Therefore, this is not a specific disease, but a set of symptoms that speak of the instability of the body’s regulatory system.
With VSD, negative symptoms are functional rather than organic. Therefore, in ICD 10, the diagnosis of VSD does not occur.
Before starting treatment of VSD (vegetative vascular dystonia) in adults, doctors find out and clarify the symptoms of pathology in order to determine what kind of diagnosis it is.
The main task of the doctor is to exclude real diseases from the body systems (heart, brain, intestines, lungs, etc.). Therefore, the patient will have to undergo a series of tests, procedures, consultations with specialists.
Diagnostics takes place in several stages:
- General examination, survey. The therapist specifies the prevailing symptoms, measures blood pressure, determines the condition of the skin, mucous membranes, pulse rate. When interviewing, he draws attention to the presence of factors that provoke the pathology of the autonomic nervous system.
- General, biochemical blood tests help to track the presence of inflammation of internal organs, determine the state of the liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
- ECG – electrocardiography with VSD, shows the slightest deviations in the work of the heart, Holter monitoring clarifies their nature.
- Ultrasound of the heart, internal organs. Required if previous analyzes have shown unclear, controversial results.
- MRI is done to detect anatomical (organic) abnormalities in any organ. It is considered an additional diagnostic method. It is used in confusing cases.
Based on the results of the initial examination and examination, the therapist prescribes additional studies and consultations with a cardiologist, neurologist.
There are patients who require tests for hormones of the gonads and thyroid gland.
Treatment
Medical experience suggests that VSD in adults is treated in 90% of cases, subject to the recommendations of the therapist.
To get rid of attacks of poor health, a set of measures is being taken, which includes taking medications and physiotherapy techniques.
It is not recommended to neglect drug treatment: relieving symptoms helps a person to calm down, creates a positive background.
Along with medications that relieve symptoms, they resort to physiotherapy procedures, lifestyle changes. The latter is necessary so that the disease does not return under the influence of negative factors.
The complex therapy of vegetative-vascular dystonia for adults includes:
- massages to be performed by a trained massage therapist;
- transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS);
- bioresonance therapy;
- peripheral magnetic stimulation;
- reflexology;
- physiotherapy;
- medicines to stabilize blood pressure, reduce anxiety, antidepressants, sleeping pills.
Exercise therapy eliminates one of the risk factors for the development of VSD in adults – hypodynamia. The attending physician develops a set of exercises taking into account the physical condition and symptoms of a particular patient.
To treat vegetative vascular dystonia in an adult, engage in a light sport in which cardio training prevails over strength training, and give up bad habits.
Change your diet from foods that are overly sugary, unnatural, and fatty in favor of healthy, balanced meals. Additionally, a well-developed daily routine and good sleep are the key to good health.